


Maxwell House

by Bluewolf458



Category: The Sentinel (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-27 03:00:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30116139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluewolf458/pseuds/Bluewolf458
Summary: Originally written for the Saturday TS chat concrit (prompt coffee) and somewhat reworked. Simon's cousin goes in search of a new supply of coffee.
Kudos: 4





	Maxwell House

Maxwell House

by Bluewolf

Simon's cousin was the owner of a flourishing business that imported and blended coffee. Some of what he imported was already blended by the foreign firms where he found it.

The day-to-day running of the business itself was done by a manager; once the business was established, Ned Banks spent very little time there, preferring rather to wander the coffee-producing areas of the world, submitting the various blends he found there to a stringent taste test. Simon didn't know, and Blair had never had reason to learn, that Ned had an enhanced sense of taste.

When he did return home, he always made a point of visiting his cousin - who was also, incidentally, his closest relative - to tell him about his latest travels and give him a sample of his new coffee.

***

"Hello, Ned!" Simon said cheerfully. "Got some Maxwell House for me?"

It was a long-running joke; over the years Ned had given Simon some outstanding coffee, and Simon, while appreciating it all, and sometimes even asking for 'more of the same', always claimed that it all tasted like Maxwell House.

Ned chuckled. "It really is Maxwell House this time," he said ruefully.

"It is?"

"You know I've found some good blends in places that aren't big coffee producers - like South Africa. I know, there are a few places that are biggish exporters of coffee in Africa, but South Africa isn't one of them.

"Anyway, I heard about this place in South Africa that's called 'Coffee Bay', and decided that with a name like that it could be well worth a visit. It had to be growing quite a lot of coffee. So I decided to visit the place on my next trip to Africa."

There was no particular reason a small town in a country that didn't produce much coffee shouldn't, on its own, get the chance to sell its produce abroad.

Simon knew that, and nodded, appreciating Ned's reasoning.

Ned smiled ruefully as he remembered the journey.

***

As his hired car bumped down the potholed road towards the small town, Ned began to regret his decision to go there. It had been a long journey, but while the scenery was spectacular enough, nowhere could he see any sign of coffee plantations. He knew - from the distance he had covered - that he must be getting close, and he would certainly have expected to see plantations -

He drove around a corner, found himself facing a small town, and knew that he had reached his destination. He followed a sign saying 'Big House Guest House' and after a minute or two reached a small, but surprisingly luxurious-looking, hotel.

Ned was already certain that this was a wasted journey, but he decided to stop for a night before heading back north and to an area that he knew was coffee-producing. As he booked in, he asked, "How did this town get its name?" deliberately keeping his tone light, making it sound like the casual curiosity of someone driving past who had decided he had gone far enough for the day.

The receptionist smiled - it was a question often asked. "It's said that over a hundred years ago a ship carrying coffee beans was shipwrecked here. The beans were washed ashore, and germinated. Unfortunately, nobody knew the best way to care for them, and the plants all died. But by then the area was called 'Koffiebaai', and the name stuck."

Ned nodded. "Interesting," he said.

Interesting - and absolutely misleading.

He took his room key and headed up the single flight of stairs. No need for anyone to know that the name had fooled him into thinking this small part of South Africa was coffee-producing, or that he was on anything but a touring holiday. Next day, he decided, he could carry on down this road as if he were indeed a tourist and have a two or three day holiday - something he didn't normally indulge in, but he _was_ appreciating the scenery in this part of South Africa; and then he would head back north, and continue his search for a new supply of quality coffee.

***

He finished telling Simon about his trip. After Koffiebaai he had headed for Zimbabwe - but the part he had gone to was almost as poor for coffee production as Coffee Bay had been, and he had returned home without a new source of supply. "So," he finished, "all I can give you this time is Maxwell House."


End file.
